As a kid, Erik Hollander was never satisfied with a new Star Wars blaster toy fresh out of the box. To make the gun feel authentic, he would drag it in the streets until it was worn out, abused, and crusted in grime.

When he got the chance to join the team at Roxy's Pit on a new fan-made, life-size sculpture of The Force Awakens' hulking luggabeast earlier this year, the 49-year-old applied some similar tactics.

“He was literally scratching the luggabeast with a shovel and throwing a real chain over it,” says sculptor Rick Bohler.

The cybernetic beast made its convention debut at Orlando's MegaCon in May, and has joined the touring circuit alongside his predecessor -- and Bohler's first Star Wars creature creation -- the towering 14-foot-high Roxy the Rancor.

Part pack animal, part Empire salvage, “Lemmy” the luggabeast is the product of Matt Paisley's passion for the franchise, Bohler's sculpting skill, and Hollander's artistry.

Bohler and Hollander, longtime friends whose first job out of high school was in creating dark rides, are both meticulous craftsmen. “It’s kind of like writing the backstory for the character,” Hollander says of the rust drips, dings, and dents pocking the luggabeast's armor. “This piece of helmet, it’s been twice used and repurposed so it would have all kinds of scars and scrapes. I would take a chain coated with real rust and I would just drag it across. The marks that it leaves are very subtle, but they’re there.” Taken together, the overall look gives the piece authenticity, tangibility, and depth.

STAR WARS ON DISNEY+

Tagged: lemmy

Monster Masters: How Star Wars Fans Made an Amazing, Life-Size Luggabeast Sculpture